MARKMILES77
Well-Known Member
Looks like someone thought Boeing's Ghostbat was worth copying!
Unmanned and Autonomous Air Vehicles
- Thread starter hauritz
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- #22
They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.Looks like someone thought Boeing's Ghostbat was worth copying!
View attachment 53558View attachment 53559
Sounds like it is another privately funded program yet to win backing from the German government. The Europeans are seemingly caught up in all these development programs that never seem to go anywhere.
In the meantime the Ghost Bat is on the verge of entering production. Feels weird Australia being ahead of the curve for a change.
Basically the German government has a (tentative) requirement for a deep strike unmanned platform with a 2029 introduction target horizon. The Air Force supposedly handed select defence companies and startups detailed specs on that in late July, and this one seems to be the possible offer Helsing cooked up for that requirement in the short time.
One of their competitors for the same concept is Airbus Defence having partnered with Kratos with the aim of "europeanizing" the XQ-58A Valkyrie as a possible offer. The other competitor is Rheinmetall apparently having partnered with Anduril, although i don't think they've publicized any concrete project yet unlike the others.
P.S. Considering Helsing's connections within various levels of government and possible (political) issues with the US origin of Airbus' offer it's not that unlikely they'll at least get some sort of development contract out of it.
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Sandhi Yudha
Well-Known Member
This thing looks really massive....well, it seems to have a payload of 6 tons.
China’s Massive Drone Swarm Mothership “Jiutian” Takes Flight
- YouTube
China’s Massive Drone Swarm Mothership “Jiutian” Takes Flight
- YouTube
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #25
If it works as advertised it could be a game changer. Small cheap drones have proven extremely effective on the battlefield but lack range. Ukraine managed to sneak a couple of shipping containers of these drones into Russia resulting in the destruction of a fair number of their bomber fleet. The Chinese have now upped the ante with a system that can deploy these drones almost anywhere. Haven't heard of a Western equivilent of this system.
It looks as if it's not at all stealthy, & it flies high & slowly. Looks like an easy target for SAMs or defending fighters.
Small, cheap drones, such as those launched from containers in Russia, tend to have short ranges. It'd have to be within range of SAMs to launch them against ground targets.
This looks as it it might be useful - after suppression of air defences.
Small, cheap drones, such as those launched from containers in Russia, tend to have short ranges. It'd have to be within range of SAMs to launch them against ground targets.
This looks as it it might be useful - after suppression of air defences.
Masquerader
Member
The CH-7 flying wing drone is now undergoing flight testing.
www.twz.com
China’s Stealthy CH-7 Flying Wing Drone Has Flown
China is actively showcasing that its CH-7, expected to primarily undertake surveillance missions, is now in flight testing. China is actively showcasing that its CH-7, expected to primarily undertake surveillance missions, is now in flight testing.
www.twz.com
Sandhi Yudha
Well-Known Member
Looking to the name "CH-7", it has to be in the same line/group/family of the other Caihong models, like CH-3, CH-4 and CH-92, which are more exported to other countries than in use by producing country. So maybe this CH-7 is also created for export.The CH-7 flying wing drone is now undergoing flight testing.
China’s Stealthy CH-7 Flying Wing Drone Has Flown
China is actively showcasing that its CH-7, expected to primarily undertake surveillance missions, is now in flight testing. China is actively showcasing that its CH-7, expected to primarily undertake surveillance missions, is now in flight testing.